Queen Games has just launched a
Kickstarter campaign for all their Essen releases. The Kickstarter campaign supports
Bastille,
Skylands, and
Franchise. Like all their Kickstarter campaigns, “Queenies”, or expansion modules, are included with each game, and the pledge levels include the option to support one, all, or any combination of the games.
Skylands is a tile laying game where the players build the Skylands kingdom, a kingdom composed of mystical floating islands. On each turn, a player will select one of four actions: Explore, Harvest, Build, or Collect Energy. Reminiscent of
Puerto Rico, all the players get to take the action, but the player who selected the action gets an advantage. Players build the kingdom on their tableau, placing forests, mountains, crystals, and cities. Harvesting resources allow for the creation of more islands, power cities, and build special buildings. The game continues until a player has completely field his or her tableau or until all the tiles have been placed. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins.
Skylands plays 2-4 players, ages 8+ in about 30 minutes. Contents include 4 action boards, 4 double-sided player boards, 1 supply board, 4 starting islands, 4 wooden player tokens, 4 player markers, 88 island tokens, 32 special island tiles, 60 wooden inhabitants, 1 scoring pad, and 24 victory point markers. The Kickstarter campaign supporters will also receive 5 Queenie expansions for the game.
In
Franchise, players are business owners in the 1960’s expanding their business by establishing franchises across America. While each new franchise adds wealth to the business, it costs money to establish a new franchise, and not all franchise locations are equal. The cost to add a franchise varies from location to location and the revenue earned, likewise, varies from location to location. Meanwhile, competitors cut into the revenue available from a location when they move into the same city. Designed by
Christwart Conrad, Franchise is a revised edition of his earlier game
Medieval Merchant, with updated artwork by
Ian O’Toole, whose artwork has been featured in
The Gallerist,
Lisboa, and
Vinhos Deluxe Edition.
Franchise plays 2-5 players, ages 14+, in about 90 minutes. Contents include one gameboard, 5 player boards, 10 income charts, 25 city tiles, 10 region tiles, 20 bonus tiles, 55 dollar cards, 200 wooden franchises, 6 expansion markers, and 5 influence markers. The Kickstarter campaign supporters will also receive 3 Queenie expansions for the game.
Bastille is a bidding game where players are leaders of revolutionary factions in France seeking to strengthen their faction before the revolution begins. Each player has three influence tokens which they can place in one of seven buildings around Paris. Each building provides a different benefit ranging from money, recruits, allies, missions, or other means to advance closer to the revolution and increase influence. The player with the most influence in a location receives the benefit of that location. Victory points are earned each round based on the random mission requirements for the revolution. After eight rounds, the revolution begins and the player with the most victory points is the winner and leader of the Revolution!
Bastille plays 3-4 plays, ages 12+, in about an hour. Content breakout has not been provided yet, but stay tuned to the Kickstarter campaign for updates. The Kickstarter campaign supporters will also receive 3 Queenie expansions for the game.
The Kickstarter campaign for all three games runs through September 14 with an expected delivery in November 2018. Check out the
Kickstarter campaign to learn more.
